


The Woman On The Bridge

by chaoticrandomness



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Angst and Romance, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 09:30:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4741358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticrandomness/pseuds/chaoticrandomness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Utena, Anthy, and accidental acts of heroism. Partially inspired by this: http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/127821459509/person-a-has-had-a-hard-life-and-is-planning</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Woman On The Bridge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [veleda_k](https://archiveofourown.org/users/veleda_k/gifts).



_It's such a beautiful day to end your life, isn't it, Himemiya?_

 

I want the last thing I see to be the most beautiful thing on this planet. In fact, the sunrise is the  _only_ beautiful thing on this planet.... after my brother died. 

 

_By the end of today, half of a person and one angry mob are going to get arrested for attempted murder and sexual assault._

 

_By the end of today, your body will be floating in this river, and no one will find you. You'll sink down into the depths of this world, and just become another name added to the world's list of dead bodies._

 

I can at least try to fill my mind with optimistic thoughts before ending it all.  Everyone's going to be brought to justice, for the world is a fair place. 

 

_Yet Justice is blind and only sees what the people tell her. Justice does not care that people who do nothing get murdered while their killers go free._

 

The sun is rising over the water, in its beautiful mix of blues and golds and vibrant light. There's no one else on this bridge, for no sane person would go for a run at five in the morning. The wind is flowing through my hair as I step towards the railing, propelling me forwards towards the water. 

 

I am going to end my life, and nothing is going to stop me. 

 

"I didn't expect anyone else to be here! You're really pretty!"

 

* * *

 

I have absolutely no idea what compelled me to spring out of bed and run to a bridge so early in the morning, but maybe it was fate? 

 

 _So if I didn't run to this bridge, I wouldn't have met such a beautiful girl... who I probably should get to know better._ _She seems kind of shy, and I don't want to just stand here and creepily stare at her._

 

"So you like watching the sunrise? What's your name?" I ask, as she turns away from staring at the sun over the ledge and walks towards me. 

 

"My name is Himemiya Anthy... and yes, I do like watching this." she answers, and her name is really pretty as well. 

 

_A beautiful name for such a beautiful girl... I hope she likes me and doesn't think I'm nosy._

 

"Are you here often? I'm Tenjou Utena, and mine isn't nearly as pretty as yours, but I hope you still like it." I ask, stopping Himemiya from walking away from me. 

 

"...yes, I am here often. It was very nice to meet you, Utena." she answers, before walking away from me and heading towards the edge of the bridge again, leaving me in its center. 

 

"Um, I really want to get to know you better! Do you want to eat breakfast with me, Himemiya? There's a cafe near here, and they're open right now and I don't have anything better to do..." I exclaim.

 

_Are you aware of how completely desperate you sound? She did call you by your first name, but apart from that...._

 

* * *

 

I am not dead. I have not died, and am not dreaming either. I am sitting in a little cafe that sells crepes in the shape of half-moons with a pretty pink-haired fencer named Utena who is telling me a story about her life. 

 

_Is this how the world works? Every action serves to balance the scales of hope and despair, and when too much of one occurs, the other appears to cancel it out._

 

"So, that's how my best friend and I ended up here after accidentally setting her kitchen on fire, and I'll have a powdered sugar crepe. Himemiya, what do you want?" Utena asks, pulling me out of pondering how long this happiness is going to last before she gets stabbed by an angry mob and starts becoming another person. 

 

"Please call me Anthy. I'll have that same one as you." I answer, for I've never been here and she probably knows everything her so much better than I do. 

 

_Is that you speaking, or the man that claimed to be your brother? He's going to be arrested, and everything's going to be fine._

 

"Okay then. Since they're really large, do you want to split one? Do you have any siblings? What do you like to do besides watching sunsets?" she asks, and I have no clue why the hell she's so enthusiastic about meeting a damaged person who was going to jump off a bridge, but I probably should humor her request. 

 

"Yes." I answer. 

 

_I like to read and garden and bake. Or, in the very least, I used to._

 

* * *

 

 

_So, I guess we went on a sort-of date at six in the morning?_

 

It's kind of weird that the only thing Anthy's really said to my questions sound like she's trying to deflect them, but I probably asked too much and sounded like an infatuated idiot. 

 

"When are you free? I have practice soon, but do you want to come back?" I ask, after paying our crepe bill. 

 

"...could you come with me to somewhere, Utena?" she answers, and I didn't want to seem like the sort of person who'd just abandon others selfishly, so I called my coach and told her that I'd be late for personal reasons. 

 

_I'll make it up, it's just that the fencing feels so small in contrast to the life of a single person..._

 

She leads me out of the cafe and into a nearby police office.

 

_Is this why you don't want me to ask you anything about your life? Because something horrible happened to you or because you are a-_

 

"Why am I here?!" I blurt out as I grab her arm, for I really don't want to think about horrifying things or criminals or dead people... 

 

"Utena, you're here for moral support. Thank you for convincing me to do this." Anthy responds, but she's looking at me like I was going to murder her when I grabbed her arm and I don't know if I'm just going to make this mess even worse... 

 

_I'm sorry! I'll stay out in the waiting room, and it was nice knowing you..._

 

I grab a random catalog off the table, which turns out to be one for delivery trucks for some reason, and begin to read as Anthy starts reporting something to one of the policemen. 

 

"Yes, I'll see you next week, Utena. Meet me on the bridge again?" 

 

* * *

 

 

It has been exactly one week since fifteen and a half people were arrested for attempted premeditated murder, attempted normal murder, and sexual assault. The trial was incredibly rapid, and they're all completely out of my life now. And I wouldn't have been able to do any of it if it weren't for Utena.

 

I've moved into my own apartment and taken up freelance writing and began taking chemistry and cooking classes at the nearby college. I've started watching fencing and reading again and growing roses and becoming a person with free will, and the world is such a bright place now. 

 

I'm standing on the same bridge that I was going to jump off of last week, and it's the middle of the day. 

 

_You need to tell her the truth, Anthy. You need to tell her what you were doing on that bridge during the sunrise, and see how she reacts._

 

People do not react well to victims. But even if she does end up reacting adversely, there're plenty of other people in my life that I've met in a single week. It's not like before, where it was just my brother and no one else. 

 

"Sorry for being late! I had to make up the practice I missed today, and do you like this bridge better at noon or morning?" Utena asks as she runs across the bridge and impulsively embraces me. 

 

"I need to tell you something. It's perfectly okay if you hate me." I answer, as I lead her into the crepe shop. 

 

* * *

 

 

"I was going to jump off that bridge if you didn't show up, Utena. Thank you for saving me." 

 

There was a reason for me to impulsively sprint across a bridge at five in the morning. If I didn't do that, Anthy would've been dead.... except I'm just an ordinary person with an ordinary personality, right? 

 

_How was I able to have such a large effect on her life?!_

 

"Why would I hate you?! You chose to save yourself, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time..." I say. 

 

"You were the right  _person_ in the right place at the right time. Most people aren't really interested in the actions of random girls standing on bridges." she answers, and did my enthusiasm in getting to know her save her, or could anyone have come by and convinced her to not jump? 

 

_Does that really matter? She's alive, and the world has another beautiful mind in it and you're technically going on another date with her and dates should be happy._

 

"...thank you, I guess... I'm really glad to have met you as well. Which one do you want?" I ask, for she told me all this about her life and I don't want to say something wrong... 

 

"Chocolate." she answers, and it's such a beautiful day outside.

 

I'm sitting in a cafe after training for nationals on my second date with Anthy Himemiya, and the world is a strange and amazing place. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this...


End file.
